National Clothesline

Plans to ban perc in two of the nation’s most populous areas were put on hold last month, but cleaners fighting for the right to keep using the solvent still face a battle.

In a widely publicized case, action on a plan to phase-out perc use in Southern California was delayed yet again when the governing board of the Air Quality Management District decided to wait a month and consider alternatives after hearing a massive industry protest at its Nov. 1 meeting. The governing board is scheduled to take up the issue again at its Dec. 6 meeting.

Meanwhile, a Chicago alderman, after consulting with cleaners, said he is willing to compromise on a proposal he introduced in October to completely ban perc from the city by next June.

It was the Southern California proposal that attracted the most attention, including nationwide media publicity. There the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which makes air pollution rules for a four-county area, has been advancing a plan that calls for phasing out perc over a 15-year period. Under the proposal brought by SCAQMD’s staff to the governing board last month, many cleaners — those operating third generation equipment, in particular — would have been forced to buy non-perc cleaning machines within the next few years. Those who had newer equipment could keep operating with perc until the machines were 15 years old, but under the phase-out schedule there would be no perc equipment in use by 2019.

At various meetings this year and last, cleaners turned out in force to protest the plan. Action by the governing board was delayed several times this year as the plan was amended to meet objections of the industry. But no previous turnout surpassed the massive showing of unity put on by cleaners before the governing board last month.

Busloads of cleaners wearing black armbands and waving protest banners began arriving at SCAQMD headquarters two hours in advance of the scheduled 9 a.m. meeting on Nov. 1. Once the doors were opened, they quickly filled the 300-seat meeting room, then filled a second room opened to accommodate the overflow. That room, too, was filled to overflowing.

A strong media presence was on hand to record the scene. A Los Angeles Times reporter estimated 600 cleaners in attendance, noting that many were Korean Americans who argued that a ban on perc would discriminate against them and harm their businesses. All of the TV stations were there, too, and reports of the meeting were carried on television and in newspapers from coast to coast.

The rank-and-file cleaners were supported by numerous industry trade associations, including the California Cleaners Association, the Korean Drycleaners and Launderers Association of Southern California, the Greater Los Angeles Drycleaners Association, the Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance, the International Fabricare Institute and the Neighborhood Cleaners Association. All had been working feverishly behind the scenes to sway the board in the industry’s favor.

“I have never gotten so many phone calls,” one SCAQMD board member told the Los Angeles Times.

Groundwork laid by the industry associations appeared to pay off when one of the governing board members introduced an alternative plan developed by the industry. Cynthia Verdugo-Peralta, Gov. Gray Davis’ appointee to the air board, put forth a plan that would phase out older perc equipment while letting drycleaners continue using perc indefinitely provided they meet emission restrictions.

Under that plan, third generation equipment would be phased out over five years. The Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance said that could lead to a reduction in perc consumption of up to 45 percent among the 1,450 cleaners that currently operate third-generation equipment in the four-country area. There are about 2,100 cleaners in the area altogether.

HSIA noted that this option has the advantage of reducing perc emissions without causing an increase in VOC emissions or fire hazards that would occur if hydrocarbon were to replace perc as a drycleaning solvent.

This option, as well as another that was presented Nov. 1 which would phase-out perc but without a specific time schedule, will be considered by the governing board at its Dec. 6 meeting.

Despite fending off the perc ban, at least temporarily, industry representatives expressed some disappointment in the outcome of the meeting. A statement released by the trade groups after the meeting said:

“We’re disappointed that after so many months of focusing on this issue, we could not resolve it today as planned. However, we are encouraged to know that the SCAQMD board is apparently taking our reports into account and that the facts have created doubt in the minds of it members.

“We’re hopeful that the board will confirm what countless other regulatory agencies around the world have concluded — that the drycleaning industry’s use of perc is not a cancer risk and does not create a public health hazard.”

A key point of contention between the industry and the air district staff is the extent of perc emissions in the area. Air district staff estimates that cleaners in the region emit 850 tons of perc annually, which SCAQMD believes constitutes a serious cancer risk.

“The average drycleaner poses a higher cancer risk to neighbors than a typical oil refinery or power plant,” according to Barry Wallerstein, executive officer of SCAQMD.

“We continue to be disappointed by the way SCAQMD’s staff overestimates emissions from perc drycleaning,” said Jon Meijer, IFI’s vice president of membership. “We know those emissions are simply not correct by the lack of supporting data to back up their claims.”

According to a study conducted by Tatch Technical Services of 186 drycleaners in New York, emissions of perc from drycleaning plants account for 12 to 17 percent of the total consumption of perc. SCAQMD calculated its totals based on the assumption that emissions account for 50 percent of total consumption.

According to the Tatch study, which was performed for HSIA, the average emission rate from the 186 plants using fourth-generation equipment was below the rate necessary to satisfy the criteria for perc established by SCAQMD.

“South Coast has assumed that drycleaners would not be able to meet its perc limits, even with the newest equipment,” said Steve Risotto, HSIA executive director. “This study provides substantial evidence that they can.”

The Tatch study and other related documents are available on the HSIA web site, www.hsia.org.

With the battle to keep perc alive in Southern California far from over, both IFI and NCA are offering financial as well as technical support to the West Coast groups. IFI has donated $3,000 to support the California Cleaners Association Air Quality District Task Force and NCA had raised some $13,000 in pledges for a Survival Fund to fight anti-perc legislation.

A perc ban proposed in Chicago has received less publicity but still stirred concern within the industry. Chicago Alderman Edward M. Burke announced in early October that he would introduce a city ordinance outlawing perc as of June, 2003.

Industry leaders reacted quickly. Augustine Chung, secretary general of the Korean Drycleaners of Greater Chicago, arranged a meeting with Burke where industry representatives had a chance to explain their side of the story.

The meeting proved productive and it now appears that if any new law is enacted, it will be far less stringent than Burke’s original plan which would have forced Chicago cleaners to replace existing perc equipment, regardless of its age or how efficiently it performs, within six months.

“It is my hope that we will arrive at a solution that will be mutually acceptable to the drycleaning industry and those who wish to limit the use of this controversial solvent,” Burke said in a statement on his web site after meeting with drycleaners.

Burke acknowledged that cleaners who rely on perc insist that it is not only safe but also the most effective drycleaning solvent. He also recognized the industry’s efforts to clean up contaminated sites through the establishment of the Dry Cleaners Environmental Response Trust Fund. Illinois is one of about a dozen states with an industry-funded and state-operated clean-up program.

Unlike Southern California, where two-thirds of the cleaners are still using third generation equipment or older, about two- thirds of Illinois cleaners are using newer equipment.